Rumali roti

Originally Posted by cheeniya

Dear TDU
You are right. I also find that the foreigners visiting India are more fascinated by the manner in which Indian dishes are prepared than the recipes thereof! I have witnessed too the look of awe in their eyes at the sight of the birth of a Rumali Roti. Is it called Rumali Roti because it resembles a rumal while in the making?
Another sight that fascinates them is the manner in which the temperature of a cup of filter coffee is brought down to a drinkable level by repeatedly transferring it between two vessels. The one on the right hand is a tumbler held far above the head and the other in the left hand is a Dabara held at the groin level. In Chennai, Dakshin Restaurant at the Park Sheraton has an expert named Iyengar who excels in it. Naturally he is the most photographed Chef in Chennai!
Sri

Dear Sri sir,

It is called Rumali roti since after it is cooked it is folded like a Rumal (handkerchief in hindi). The other day I was returning to Gaithersburg after visiting Washington D.C. On the way I found so many families going into a building. Nearly a hundred people or more would have been there and all were white people. I thought they may be going for some marriage. But, all of them were casually dressed. Then I found that they were going into a restaurant and it was written on the name board 'Eating place famous for South Indian cuisine'. I have made a mental note of the place to visit one day.

Regards,

TDU

Originally Posted by twinsmom

Hi TDU,

Yummy post, that! the visual imagery was so realistic i could see the dough swirling and growing bigger and bigger...
here in Karama, we have Simran's Aappa kadai( yes, the actress'...) where they make your choice of aappams right in front of your eyes... and serve you garam garam...quite a contrast- these uniformed chefs swirling the aappa chatti unlike the squat woman sitting in front of her stove and aappa chatti and her sooda thinnu saami...

Aappam means sweet dish made of wheat flour? or is it like idiaapam?. Here, when I was in London in a Srilankan house they used to make idiaapam which was brown in colour while in Tamil Nadu I have seen the idiaapam used to be very white in colour. Srilankan Tamils use cocanut chutney powder called sambal along with the idiaappam.

Originally Posted by shanvy

hi tdu,

That was a wonderful description. I am always fascinated with the way these guys just flip it up and catch it....never miss one..

Thanks, shanvy. Yes, it is fascinating to watch them making these rotis.

Originally Posted by Jananikrithsan

Nice slurpy...... yummy...... post. Makes me feel hungry, rumali roti is my favourite when it comes to the variety of rotis.

Ha ha ha. Your response is always very interesting. You use such nice words like yummy, slurpy which aptly describes the roti. Thanks, Janani.

Originally Posted by Vysan

Dear TDU

Rumali roti and Parotas ... preperation is a great sight to watch.... Nice to eat....also .

But the way they throw and catch without missing...... We should ask our Men in Blue to prctice it, so that they will not miss a catch.....

Veda

Our men in blue have heard your comments and have been activated to win at Oval. Do you get these rotis in Gulf?

Originally Posted by Kamla

Dear TDU,

This was a very interesting observation from you which was at once tasteful and tasty!
Rumali roti is always associated with a certain home-sickness, where I am concerned. The reason being, I had no idea about rumali rotis as a young person while living in India. Where were they those days?? Anyways, on one of my vacations to India, my sister and bil introduced us to rumali rotis. We especially drove to a place in B'lore that specialised it and ate hot hot freshly made (yes..with all its show piece brilliance) rotis which were folded into many layers and served with yummy curries. Those days, my sis was so taken up with its intricacies, she had mastered the art of preparing rumali rotis at home and served us many a tasty meal. Mind you, she did not throw it in the air or twirl it !! She was not going to spend the time cleaning her kitchen if she missed the roti :)) In spite of it, the tasty rumali rotis did not lose their charm.

L, Kamla

Thanks, Kamala. Oh, you are also from Bangalore?. In Bangalore I invariably go to MTR tiffin room in Basavangudi or go to Tiffanis in Brigade Road. Rumali rotis I tatse while in north India. You are lucky that your sis has mastered the art and make it at home.

Originally Posted by nivedi

Hi TDU,

I too like the way Rumali's and parota's are prepared. The chef turns to an acrobat and a juggler.

Similar is the skill of the noodle chef's in South East Asia. A single dump of dough is turned into strands of noodles by swirling and rotating in the air.

Hi, Nivedi. You are right about the noodles makers. In Mumbai few years back several road side stalls sprang up serving fast food and the way they used to toss the noodles in the thava is worth watching.

Hello TDU,

So thoughtful of you to remember the making of Rumali Roti and write about it on seeing these ready-to-eat foods in the Indian stores in the US.
I have seen the making of Tandoori Naan in the roadside dhaabas when I had visited places like Delhi, Nasik on an official trip (don't start imagining what kind of official trip it could have been ).

You are absolutely right, making these rotis, parathas (or Madurai purota), naans, etc. are an art and inspite of following the expert tips given by cooking stalwarts, I have never got anywhere close to making them better :icon_frown:. Poor DH has got to eat those (rubber-like) chappathis that I make.

Beware of these ready-to-eat Rumali Rotis, Stuffed parathas, Naan, etc. that you get here. If you are going to buy these thinking of those wonderful preparations in the North, you are sure to get disappointed.

Malathy

Originally Posted by Tamildownunder

Our men in blue have heard your comments and have been activated to win at Oval. Do you get these rotis in Gulf?

Dear TDU,

Yes, we get both rumali rotis & parotas here. You get everything which u get in India/Pak/Srilanka here, as the constitute the majority of the population.

I find the rumali rotis made by pakistani cook are soft and tastes good than the Indian hotels, similarly parotas made in malbari hotel is better than anybody else.....

Here there is a pakistani cook who has a 5/5 mtr shop who specialises only in rotis/parotas stuffed..... Only parcel..... and ther you will find always a huge line standing......

I like real good yummy veg food........

Hope the Men in Blu will win the last one also....

Veda

dear Tamil,

You really made me feel homesick again....just got back from india, and i did not have the chance to relish all this.....especially rumali roti which was my favourite always!:icon_frown:
Unfortunately we dont have it here in any restaurants, so have to await to see that art of its making next time around in India!
But really visualised it from the way u wrote.....
Will catch up with ur stories soon and get back with the fb!